New Fatal Shooting in Va.; Van Sought

Oct. 11 -- A man shot to death today at a gas station in Fredericksburg, Va., sparking fears that an elusive sniper who has struck nine times in the last 10 days has killed again.

Police are looking for a white Chevy Astro minivan with a ladder on the roof that was seen leaving the scene with two people inside. Investigators asked the public to be on the lookout for the van and contact them with any tips.

"As has been reported, we are looking for a white Astro van with a ladder on top," said Montgomery County, Md., Police Chief Charles Moose, who has been leading the investigation into the sniper attacks that have terrorized the Washington, D.C., area. "That remains our most appropriate lookout."

The victim, identified as 53-year-old Kenneth Bridges of Philadelphia, was shot at about 9:30 a.m. at an Exxon station near an entrance to Interstate 95 just south of Fredericksburg, police said.

Police have not officially linked this morning's shooting to the other shootings, though Moose said, "The shooting certainly looks similar." Some ballistics evidence had been recovered and was being examined at a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms forensics lab in Rockville, Md. FBI officials said they would announce Saturday morning when the results of the ballistics test — which would reveal whether today's shooting is linked to the other sniper attacks — would be available.

(Click here to receive major updates on the sniper shootings)

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Parallels to Previous Shootings

The possible sighting of a white minivan and the fact that the shooting occurred at a gas station during the morning rush hour drew parallels to the sniper shootings. All of the previous sniper victims were shot just once; three were attacked at gas stations; and a white minivan or a white box truck was seen leaving the scene in several of those incidents.

Moose said the police search for a white Astro minivan did not mean they were now excluding the white box truck. The Astro may be just an expanded description of the box truck, he said.